Blockchain for Creative Industries

The Blockchain for Creative Industries cluster comprises staff from the Faculty of Arts and Creative Industries, as well as from Science and Technology. We explore the disruptive, and enabling potential of blockchain technology for music, photography, art, fashion, film, journalism and gaming. As well as high-quality research outputs, the cluster is committed to teaching at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

Areas of interest include new business and economic models; creative entrepreneurship and artistic identity; copyright; visual analytics; and digital forensics. As well as exploring the considerable potential for innovation, we also look at barriers to adoption and possible disadvantages of this new technology – one some have suggested could be as significant as the World Wide Web.

Members of the cluster have been interviewed on behalf of the French Intellectual Property Office, and have taken part in round-table events alongside representatives of the Department of Work & Pensions and the Government Office for Science.

Cluster members have spoken at events organised by Blockchain Storm and the Bitcoin and Blockchain Leadership Forum, and at festivals including the Great Escape and Wilderness. We have also spoken internationally, at events including Distributed: Music in Nashville, USA, and as part of Global Entrepreneurship Week in Bergen, Norway. Cluster members have been interviewed on the BBC and written articles for publications including the Guardian, the Conversation and Distributed magazine.

Our Music on the Blockchain report, published in 2016, received extensive media coverage from publications including Music Week, Music 4.5, International Business Times, Tech City News, Cryptocoin News, City A.M., Fortune magazine, Huffington Post and Record of the Day. The report was launched at Sonos Studios in London, with leading figures in academia and industry.

The cluster is part of the Open Music Initiative, alongside Berklee, MIT, Harvard and UCL.